Board of Directors
Presidents
ANDREW DAM (he/him) currently serves as a general attorney for the Department of Energy’s Office of Hearings and Appeals. Andrew grew up in Evansville, Indiana and attended Indiana University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Law & Public Policy with a Minor in Economics in 2017. He graduated from Georgetown Law in 2020. During law school, Andrew was a chair in OutLaw, Senior Articles Editor for the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law, and a student attorney in the Georgetown Law Civil Rights Clinic. Andrew served as a law clerk for the Honorable Laura A. Cordero in D.C. Superior Court from August 2020 to April 2023. From November 2022 to April 2023, Andrew also clerked for two other judges in the Probate and Tax Divisions: the Honorable Leslie A. Meek and the Honorable Erik Christian. From April 2023 to March 2024, he worked as a trial attorney for DOE’s Office of General Counsel, Litigation.
PAYTON T. THORNTON (he/him) is an antitrust associate at McDermott Will & Schulte. He focuses his practice on antitrust and competition matters–including antitrust compliance counseling, HSR premerger notification and merger clearance, and government investigations. Payton graduated from GMU Law in 2022 with a concentration in antitrust law. In law school, he was President of the LGBTQ+ Equality Alliance and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Law, Economics & Policy. Payton is a Young Lawyer Representative for The Antitrust Source. He devotes his free time volunteering with the D.C. chapter and on the national governance committee of Gay for Good, a non-profit with chapters in over 20 cities that mobilizes LGBTQ+ and ally volunteers to make a difference in their community. He is a loyal and true fan of Oklahoma State University football and wrestling.
Vice President
TAI WILLIAMS (she/they) is an associate at Crowell & Moring LLP practicing health care law. Tai earned her J.D. from the George Washington University Law School in 2022 and her B.A. in Psychology and Spanish from Tufts University in 2017. She maintains an active pro bono immigration practice, representing applicants for asylum and minors seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. She also co-leads Crowell & Moring’s Immigration Pro Bono Committee and is a member of the DC Bar Foundation Young Lawyers Network Leadership Council. Through the DC LGBTQ+ Bar Association, she hopes to increase visibility and build community among members of the queer legal community.
Secretary
JAGIR PATEL (they/them) Jagir Patel is an attorney with Phillips & Cohen (P&C) and an adjunct professor at Howard University, where they teach courses in Constitutional Law and Administrative Law. At P&C, Jagir works on whistleblower cases involving the False Claims Act and financial frauds before federal regulators. Previously, they worked at the White House Office of Management and Budget where they were responsible for administering major executive branch programs, advising on significant policy and appropriations decisions, and drafting and implementing complex federal regulations, including those involving program integrity and financial oversight of federal programs and civil rights in educational settings. Jagir received their Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, where they were a Blume Public Interest Scholar and served as the Executive Editor of the Annual Review of Criminal Procedure for the Georgetown Law Journal. They hold a Master of Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education and serve on the Board of Directors for the D.C. LGBTQ+ Bar Association and the Robertson Scholars Leadership Program at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Jagir is admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia.
Treasurer
SHERRY YU (they/them) is a litigation associate at Aegis Law Group LLP. Sherry holds a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, a M.S. from Northwestern University, and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where they were on the board of OutLaw and were a recipient of the DC LGBTQ+ Bar Association’s Lavender Equality Fellowship. Outside of work, Sherry is an avid CrossFitter, and was an OutAthlete in 2020 with the Out Foundation, a group dedicated to increasing LGBTQ+ access in fitness, when they successfully advocated for CrossFit to allow the usage of preferred name for their certified coaches in competitions.
Members
VANESSA EISEMANN (she/her) is Of Counsel in the Washington, D.C. Region office of Jackson Lewis P.C., where she partners with organizational leaders and human resources professionals to navigate complex workplace challenges. Before joining Jackson Lewis, Vanessa served as a supervising attorney at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the General Counsel, where she led a national team advising on employment, civil rights, and labor law matters across the Department. Earlier in her career, Vanessa was a Senior Staff Attorney at the National Center for LGBTQ Rights (formerly known as the National Center for Lesbian Rights) and a member of the legal team that won the right to marry for same-sex couples in California. Vanessa began her career in Los Angeles and is a former president of the LGBTQ+ Lawyers Association of Los Angeles. Vanessa also served on the Board of Directors of Beth Chayim Chadashim (an LGBTQ+ synagogue in Los Angeles) and of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda, Maryland. Vanessa is committed to advancing the legal profession through mentorship, continuing education, and service.
MICHAEL S. HEARD SNOW (he/they) is an associate at K&L Gates working at the intersection of maritime, space, and energy law. With a background in marine biology, Michael worked in oceans around the world, including in fisheries in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, on coral reefs in the Indian Ocean, marine protected areas in the North Sea, and served as a member of the first interdisciplinary oceanographic expedition to Phoenix Islands Archipelago in the Republic of Kiribati. Before joining the firm, Michael worked as an attorney-advisor for the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a project manager in the Maritime Administration’s Deepwater Ports office, and began his legal career as a John A. Knauss Sea Grant College Fellow with the U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS). In his free time Michael is an avid camper, sailor, foodie, bartender, and booklover.
SIENA HOHNE (she/her) is a Charles F.C. Ruff Fellow at the D.C. Office of the Attorney General’s Civil Rights and Elder Justice Section. A cum laude graduate of Georgetown Law, Siena has called Washington, D.C. home for the past seven years and is passionate about advancing LGBTQ+ civil rights and supporting LGBTQ+ legal professionals. Siena’s prior professional experiences include the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, Georgetown Law’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Public Justice, Lambda Legal, and the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association. As a student at Georgetown Law, Siena served as Public Sector Careers Chair of Outlaw and the Vol. XXVI Symposium Editor for The Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law. Originally from Long Island, NY, Siena graduated summa cum laude from Georgetown University with a B.A. in Government and Women’s & Gender Studies.
ALLIE HORWITZ (she/they) is an associate at Terris, Pravlik & Millian, LLP, a public interest law firm that focuses on civil rights and environmental litigation. Allie has experience in plaintiff-side class action litigation, advocating for access to health care and special education rights. Allie has worked at the AARP Foundation, where she led the LGBTQ+ affinity group, litigated cases on behalf of low-income older adults, and wrote amicus briefs advocating for LGBTQ+ seniors. Allie has also worked as a public defender and clerked on the Michigan Supreme Court. Allie received her JD from the University of Michigan Law School and her B.A. in Psychology from Amherst College. Outside of work, Allie and her wife are ardent Washington Spirit fans.
JORDAN A. HULSEBERG (he/him) is a federal trial attorney who defends the U.S. Government in civil constitutional and administrative law challenges. Jordan earned a bachelor’s in philosophy from Rhodes College and his J.D. from American University Washington College of Law. While in law school, Jordan was editor-in-chief of the law school’s criminal law publication, a member of its official trial team, and the champion of the law school’s annual trial advocacy competition. After graduating from law school, Jordan briefly clerked at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia before his appointment to the Attorney General’s Honors Program. He is licensed to practice law in D.C. and Illinois. Jordan lives in Washington, D.C. with his husband, Justin, and their cat, Zinfandel.
ALAN MOORE (he/him) is Assistant General Counsel for Data Protection at S&P Global, one of the world’s leading providers of market analytics and financial ratings services. In that role, Alan oversees privacy and data protection provisions in S&P’s vendor negotiations for the Americas and Europe and serves as liaison to the Government Relations and Cybersecurity Incident Response teams. Prior to joining S&P, Alan worked in privacy legal roles in the healthcare, government, and technology sectors. He holds a J.D. from the Samford University Cumberland School of Law and an LLM with Honors in privacy law from the University of East Anglia Law School in Norwich, England. Alan is originally from rural Georgia and has lived in the D.C. area since 2019. Outside of work, he’s an avid Nationals fan, engaged in several community health and wellness initiatives, and member of the Washington National Cathedral Congregation.
M MOORE (he/him) is a litigation associate at Zuckerman Spaeder LLP. M represents clients in a range of matters, including commercial disputes and white-collar cases, and specializes in representing individuals under government investigation. M also maintains a pro bono practice, where he represents clients in immigration and criminal cases. M received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, and his B.S from the University of Chicago. He clerked for the Honorable T.S. Ellis, III of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Honorable Mary Beck Briscoe of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
SCOTT NOVAK (he/him) is a senior associate in Baker Botts L.L.P.’s Environmental, Safety, and Incident Response group. He advises clients on litigation, regulatory advocacy, and compliance matters, focusing on energy, climate, and sustainability issues in particular. Scott maintains an active LGBTQ+ pro bono practice through the Baker Botts Pride in Action initiative and is co-host of the Environmental Evolutions podcast. Prior to joining Baker Botts, Scott worked as a Fellow at the Georgetown Climate Center to assist states in developing the Transportation and Climate Initiative Program, a regional cap-and-invest policy for on-road transportation fuels. He received his undergraduate degree from Rollins College, his master’s degree from the University of Cambridge, and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.
JOHN W. O’TOOLE (he/him) is Counsel at Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale & Dorr LLP and focuses his practice on antitrust and competition matters. John is an active member of Wilmer’s LGBTQ+ affinity group and maintains an active pro bono practice focused on LGBTQ+-related advocacy. Mr. O’Toole is an active mentor in his firm and through the ABA Antitrust Law Section and enjoys volunteering with various LGBTQ+ organizations in the city. Mr. O’Toole received his undergraduate degree from Boston College and his law degree from Harvard Law School.
ZACHARY SANFILIPPO (he/him) is an associate at Hogan Lovells with a practice focused on Government Contracts, Government Relations, and Higher Education law. Zach earned his J.D./L.L.M. from Duke University School of Law in 2023 and, prior to that, his B.A. from the University of Denver. During his law school tenure, Zach served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Duke Law Journal in which he also published an article entitled United, We Fall: Expelling Autocratic States from the European Union. Upon graduating, Zach clerked for the Honorable Stephanie Seymour of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He’s an avid climber, hiker, board game player, and reader of all things fantasy.
WHITNEY SCHNEIDER-WHITE (she/her) is a partner at BakerHostetler, where she is a member of the Privacy Governance and Technology Transactions team. In this role, Whitney advises clients on domestic and global privacy, data protection, and information governance issues. Whitney also leads her firm’s LGBTQ+ affinity group. Before joining BakerHostetler, Whitney served as the Global Privacy and Compliance Counsel for an international nonprofit, overseeing the development and implementation of its global privacy and data protection framework. Whitney obtained her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and her undergraduate degree from New York University.
Law Student Member
JAMES PEREZ (he/him) is a second-year law student at American University Washington College of Law. James earned his B.A. in Political Science from Arizona State University in 2020 and his M.L.S. from Texas A&M University School of Law in 2023. In addition to serving as the Student Representative for the D.C. LGBTQ+ Bar Association, he is the External Affairs Chair for WCL’s Latin American Law Student Association, a junior staffer on American University Business Law Review, and a member of the D.C. Hispanic Bar Association. Outside of law school, James enjoys spending time with his dog, Texas, playing tennis, and watching Texas A&M sports.